Cascade Country Rendezvous - Republic

The Washington State BMW Riders – MOA #104 – held their annual rally in Republic, WA this year.  You will remember this club has the interesting policy of alternating venues between Menlo WA, near the coast, and Republic, near the Canadian border.

Main Street, and Republic Brewing Company

Walt “Waltusi” Farnlacher and I met on the road in Williams CA, and rode up I-5 to US-97, then on to Republic.  I would not recommend this route to anyone riding north.  There is too much traffic and too many trucks on 97.  We had a limited amount of time getting to the rally, so we couldn’t take a more scenic route on the many back roads through Oregon and Washington.  The return trip however, would be different.




CCR Rally HQ & "Beer Gardens"

  We took two days getting to Republic, and spent the first night at a very nice KOA near Madras OR.  Traffic began to subside north of Okanogan WA, and we finally got off US-97 in Tonasket and headed east on WA-20.  At last, a motorcycle road!  Only 40 miles to Republic, but WA-20 took us along winding creeks and over Wauconda summit, and Thursday afternoon we arrived at the Ferry County Fairgrounds. 



Republic Rally campsite ambiance



Like Menlo, this rally was small, and unique.  The people were friendly, and it wasn’t difficult to make new friends – like "Sylvia" from Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, who soloed her R1200C to the rally.  But the best part is meeting up with old friends - like Gordon from St. George, Utah.  Gordon is a retired farmer originally from Fargo, North Dakota, and has the same speech accent as the characters in the movie of the same name.

Gordon harrassing Walt

   

My first introduction to Gordon was rather incongruous.  Gene Austin and I were attending the 2009 Bear Tooth Rendezvous.  A rider on a brand new RT had just slipped in the wet grass and went down right in front of us.  We lifted the RT off the rider, and got it upright.  The rider stuck out his hand, and we helped him up.  That’s how we met Gordon.







Sampling wares in the Republic Brewery

   We met again at the MOA International last year, and after setting up our campsite in Republic this time, I noticed someone lying spread-eagled next to my tent.  After a few seconds I said, “Gordon”!  He jumped up and stuck out his hand.  I said, “I would have recognized you quicker if you were under an RT”.

Thursday we had dinner at a cute little roadhouse within walking distance from the fairgrounds.  Friday it was breakfast at the same roadhouse before the three of us left on a day trip west to an area known as "Many Lakes".  To me, this was the highlight of the rally.  The back-roads are in good shape, and they all seem to follow a river or creek. 



Day trip north of Nighthawk near Canadian border

 Consequently, there isn’t a lot of straight pavement in this area.  We went out through Tonasket and Loomis to the old ghost town of Nighthawk, within a quarter of a mile from the Canadian border.  We came back through Oroville, Chesaw and Curlew.




The NorCal gang arrives from their Canadian tour.  Lies to follow.

 When we got back we found the Nor Cal group that was touring in Canada had arrived.  So, that evening Walt and I joined our “Gang of Four” - "Downtown" Nick Brown, “Paparazzi Bob” Empasis, Peter “Step-and-a-Half” Oxenbol, and Doug “Buzz” Moore - exchanging quips, lies and belly-laughs.  Joining us in the melee were club members Roger Malone from Reno NV, and Suzanne Ector from Gold Beach OR with some tall tales of their own.


"Sylvia" and Walt compare beers and door prizes



We spent Saturday relaxing and taste-testing beers at the Republic micro-brewery in town.  Back at the fairgrounds, a band played country music, and we sampled some more brews Walt had stashed in his cooler.  While harrassing passers-by, we met up with club members Terry and “El” Burnes.  Terry is a cornucopia of information about places of interest, obscure campgrounds, and ALL the local micro-breweries.



Awaiting the ferry at Keller Landing

 The trip home was much better than on the way up.  The “Gang of Four” left early Sunday and headed east to Idaho and Montana.  Walt and I headed south on WA-21 to the Keller Ferry (free), crossed Lake Roosevelt which lies behind the Grand Coulee dam, and had breakfast in Wilbur WA.   I was following Walt on most of this trip because he had the GPS, and more importantly – the radar detector.  We were on WA-21 between Lind and Kahlotus WA – wheat-growing country: hilly, narrow with no shoulders, and no traffic whatsoever.  The sheriff’s squad car approached us just over the top of a hill, and immediately lit us up.


Crossing Lake Roosevelt on the Keller free ferry



Unlike Oregon, most of the back roads in Washington are 60 or 65 mph limits.  We were in a 55 zone however, and the young deputy said he had us at 71.  So after checking our papers, he let us go with a pleasant, “Be careful”.  Nice kid.

It had finally warmed up, and by the time we reached Clarkston WA, it was 100 degrees.  I wasn’t complaining.  Up to this point, it had been cool (70’s) during the days and downright cold (low 40’s) at night.  We were heading for Joseph OR, and then Hell’s Canyon.  WA-129 from Clarkston to the Oregon state line is a phenomenal motorcycle road.  With very little traffic and virtually no trucks, it crests at Rattlesnake Pass (3965 ft), then winds down into the Grande Ronde canyon on a series of staircase switchbacks where one can see three or four steps ahead, then back up the other side in the same fashion.  We crossed into Oregon on now OR-3 as it winds through the Whitman National Forest with a constant view of the snow-capped Wallowa Mountains in the distance.  



Crossing the Imnaha River on Forest Road 39.



It was getting late, so Walt found the Log House campground in Enterprise OR.  This was a pleasant place with a beautiful view of the Wallowa Mountains, and a group of Canadians camped next to us, eh?  The friendly hostess told us about a good Mexican restaurant in town – El Bajio, and we asked her about national forest road 39 that runs south to the Joseph Canyon lookout and to Hell’s Canyon.  She said the road just opened two weeks ago after extensive damage from heavy rains and runoff, and to watch out for the potholes.  

 


Joseph Canyon overlook on Forest Road 39

So, the next day we headed south on forest road 39.  This road is closed in the winter, and tops out at 5,000 feet at Lonesome Saddle Pass. We stopped at the Joseph Canyon overlook, then went on to Oxbow OR and along the reservoir, across the Hell’s Canyon dam to the visitor’s center below the dam and the end of the road.  It was hot in the canyon, but not unbearably. 



Rafters putting in below the Hell's Canyon dam



After getting some info about rafting in the canyon from the cutie rangerette, we turned around, and headed for John Day OR.  We’ve both been on these roads before - on daytrips from the Chief Joseph Rally – through Halfway, Baker City, and Austin to John Day and US-395.  On the way home, Walt’s Garmin again found a nice campground – the Burns RV Park in Burns OR.

                                                                          

Hell's Canyon from below the dam



We made our final day on the road a bit more interesting by leaving US-395 at Hallelujah Junction, and riding over Beckworth Pass to CA-89, then to Donner Pass road (old US-40).  We stopped at the top near Sugarbowl Ski Park to look at the old railroad tunnels, and admire the work of the Central Pacific's Chinese crews who carved out the tunnels with black powder back in the 1860’s.

After partaking in larger rallies like the ‘49er or Chief Jo, it’s easy to forget that a lot of BMW rallies are much smaller – in the 200 to 300 participation range.  I like these small rallies because the venue can be in a small unique area.  Republic is just that sort of unique area.

It won’t be until 2013 that the Cascade Rendezvous will be in Republic again.  I think it would be worth a return trip.

Tom “Tuco” Harris

July 31, 2011

For more information about the Northern California BMW club, visit:  www.bmwnorcal.org